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Free Kensington and Chelsea planning permission check

Check whether your Kensington and Chelsea project needs planning permission in 90 seconds. Free, no signup, verified against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's 38 designated conservation areas, over 3,800 listed buildings and the council's published Article 4 directions. Extensions, loft conversions, basements, new builds, change of use, outbuildings and prior approvals all covered.

WarningThis tool gives general guidance based on public planning data. It is not legal advice. Always verify with your local planning authority before starting work.

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38
Conservation areas
over 3,800
Listed buildings
93%
Overall approval rate
11 wks
Typical decision time

Approval rate is the overall planning approval rate for all applications decided by the council, YE Dec 2025, per MHCLG Live Table P124.

Planning in Kensington and Chelsea

Kensington and Chelsea is the most tightly controlled planning authority in the UK in qualitative terms and handles a unique mix of project types: rear return extensions in Chelsea terraces, roof additions in Notting Hill, single-storey basements under Belgravia, listed building consent for alterations to Grade II* stucco facades, and a steady stream of super-prime new builds and mixed-use schemes around Knightsbridge and Holland Park. Nearly three quarters of the borough is protected by 38 separate conservation areas, and the council publishes over 3,800 listed buildings in its heritage register. The basement extension policy is the strictest in London (limited to single storey, full-depth basements are effectively banned) and RBKC's borough-wide Article 4 direction (in force 28 April 2016) removes permitted development rights for basement extensions and lightwells to single dwellinghouses across the entire borough. Whether your project is a side return in SW10, a loft conversion in W11 or a basement in SW1, you are almost certainly looking at a full planning application with a heritage statement, a structural engineer's report, and (for basements) a basement impact assessment from a chartered hydrogeologist. The council's overall planning approval rate was 93% for year ending December 2025 per MHCLG Live Table P124, but this figure reflects the high proportion of straightforward applications that sail through; complex householder extensions trying to push conservation area limits are routinely refused.

Why Kensington and Chelsea refuses planning applications

The commonest reasons Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea officers give when refusing householder planning applications - across extensions, loft conversions, basements, outbuildings and other residential projects - based on published committee reports:

  1. Harm to the character or appearance of a conservation area
  2. Unacceptable basement impact on party walls or tree roots
  3. Loss of architectural features on a listed terrace
  4. Scheme exceeds the basement restriction policy
  5. Visible bulk or massing in a protected townscape view

Kensington and Chelsea council resources

Authoritative Kensington and Chelsea planning sources you can cross-check:

Further reading
Read the full Kensington and Chelsea extension guide →

Cost benchmarks, planning timelines and design recommendations specific to Kensington and Chelsea homeowners.

Last reviewed by Jonathan Blewitt (founder, Mayfair Studio) on 11 April 2026. Approval rate sourced from MHCLG quarterly live tables (YE Dec 2025). Conservation area, Article 4 and listed building counts cross-referenced against planning.data.gov.uk. This page is reviewed quarterly.